Third Try
by nekotori
Summary: Takes place after Breath of the Wild, a new enemy arises. Suddenly one morning King Dorephan is killed, all clues point to the killer being someone in Kakariko. Link and Zelda travel to the village to uncover the person's identity and discover something even bigger.
1. Chapter 1

He'd been here before not long ago, but it had only been for a while. Months ago there were more pressing issues to be dealt with. When he looked back at those memories there wasn't really anything he remembered about the locations he'd gone to. Everything felt so vague and not worth remembering since during his travels, there was really just one thing on his mind. Her.

The last time he'd been here was brief, he had only come here to complete that one goal and left immediately to tame the other divine beasts. It was like having tunnel vision. He blocked out everything around him and hadn't given much thought to anything or anyone for that matter, except his one goal. He tried to complete his mission has soon as possible. She had spent 100 years waiting for him, fighting against the Calamity with all her might and all because of his failure to protect her. When he regained the memories of what had happened, and who she was he swore he would never let her down again.

His visit to Zora's Domain was under different circumstances now. His tunnel vision was gone and now he could appreciate the surroundings he had ignored before. The domain shone bright even though it was probably almost midnight. They had arrived a couple of hours ago, it had been a long travel. The glass columns illuminated around him with blue undertones. It made him feel serene. It had been so long since he'd felt this calm.

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath and held it in. It filled his lungs and he felt his heartbeat through his ears. Everything felt weightless as if he had lost a hundred pounds in one night. His burden had been lifted and it was because Hyrule was no longer in danger.

Everyone would be safe.

The princess would be safe.

He let out his breath and opened his eyes.

There weren't anymore threats to face, he and Zelda had saved Hyrule. No more deaths or people in danger. Everything would be okay and the kingdom would flourish. Then why did he feel sad?

An inevitable frown crept its way to his face as he looked at the statue before him. They had perfectly managed to capture the soft expression she had always worn. He wished he could remember more about the Zora Princess. She'd been so kind to him. She never doubted his skills even for a second and... that was it. That was all he could remember about her.

He stared into her face.

She had also loved him deeply, he could feel it through the memories they shared. The way she spoke to him and in the way she acted around him. Her father had also confirmed this.

He furrowed his eyebrows at her statue.

Did himself from 100 years ago know about her feelings?

What if she told him all those years ago… what did he respond?

Questions started to plague his mind, there was so much he still couldn't remember. He felt himself grow impatient. He stared desperately at her as if her statue would somehow give him the answers to his doubts.

His thought were interrupted when he suddenly heard something shift behind him. Link immediately unsheathed his sword, turned around and got into his fighting stance.

Then his muscles relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Forgive me, princess" he said and hastily put away his sword, "I'm still used to-"

"I understand," Zelda interrupted.

All the monsters that had once swarmed the land died away with Ganon. He knew that but now he was so accustomed to always be on guard. Always prepared for an eminent attack. It would be hard to grow out of that habit.

She frowned.

"Is there something you need, princess?" He asked.

Seeing Zelda at this hour was the last thing he expected.

The trip from Hyrule Castle to Zora's Domain had been a long one and not once did she complain about how exhausted she was. When he set up camp, Zelda would remain awake and stare at the fire the whole night. Sometimes she began trembling but he couldn't figure out if it was from the cold or something else. Link tried to ask her about it but she just smiled to dismiss his worries answering 'I'm fine.' or something along the lines.

"No, there isn't anything." she shook her head, "I just… when I woke up you were gone."

"I'm sorry." he answered.

Zelda smiled.

"She's beautiful isn't she?" she said.

At first he didn't know who she was referring but then he saw her walk up to the statue that was origin to most of his troubles.

The princess smiled sadly.

"She didn't deserve an early death, neither did the champions." she said more to herself than to Link. "I wish they were all still here. We could celebrate our victory together."

He agreed silently with a nod.

Even if he wanted to, there was nothing he could say. His oath didn't permit him to.

They stood there in silence, admiring the statue before them. None of them spoke but at least he was thankful that the silence wasn't an awkward one. Instances like these were common for Link, he wasn't the most outspoken person. When he spoke to people he would respond with a nod or with short words, leaving the person he spoke with with nothing to respond. He couldn't blame them, it was hard to maintain a conversation with him and he knew that. Zelda didn't seem to mind this about him.

She just accepted the way he was and joined him in silence so we wouldn't feel pressured to speak.

Now that she thought about it, she didn't care about any of Link's flaws. She was just glad he was here with her and they were both alive.

No one would ever experience what they had been through. Impa and Purah were the only ones who had lived 100 years and yet they would never be able understand their pain. They were alone and only had each other. That was why Zelda was here looking for Link in the first place. She panicked when she woke up and noticed he had left. She'd been alone for so long that she felt scared to lose that company.

She would never confess this to Link and for many reasons. One was the fact that he was her knight. She could never burden him with her troubles like that. He hadn't willingly accepted the duty to be her appointed knight. Her father had chosen him for her and he there wasn't much he could do other than oblige.

She didn't even know if he enjoyed his duty, so she tried to make it easy for him and not share personal matters.

The second reason was one she didn't want to acknowledge, although it stood right in front of her and not in a figurative way. The second reason was literally standing in front of her and Link.

' _How much does he remember about her?'_ the princess thought to herself.

Out of all the places he could be at she found him here. This shouldn't surprise her as much but it did. It made her heart ache.

Zelda shook her head, trying to shake off the feeling.

She couldn't think about herself right now, not after everything Link had done for Hyrule. He had sacrificed so much already, there was no way she could ask him for more. She would repay him for his efforts, but how? What would Link want as a reward?

She would find out eventually.

"Well," Zelda started, "I just wanted to know if you were okay. I'll... be returning to the guests chambers."

Link nodded again "I will escort you there."

"I don't mind walking alone." she shook her head at his answer.

"It is my duty." he insisted.

Zelda frowned.

"Of course." she said emptily.

She started to make her way to the room king Dorephan had kindly let her borrow and Link followed shortly behind. When she arrived she opened the door.

"I'll guard your door for the night." he informed her.

"All right. I bid you goodnight." Zelda said not turning back to look at him.

She entered her door and locked it shut. Zelda started to get ready for bed when she stopped to notice her reflexion in the mirror. She was still wearing her white dress.

' _I really should get new clothes._ ' she thought to herself.

It was stained everywhere and started to rip in the edges. It was in terrible conditions, there was no way this could be fixed. She sighed, realizing that inevitably she would have to part from it. Her vision turned to the small table that was situated in the corner of the room. There lay one of Link's green tunics.

That would do for now at least.

Zelda took off her dress and changed into the green garb. It felt soft and smelled nice, like someone had recently washed it. After combing her hair and tying it into a braid, she got under the covers and closed her eyes.

She felt so exhausted that she didn't even realize when she started dreaming…

A knock woke her up the next morning. Zelda rubbed her eyes open and yawned.

She looked out of the window, the sun had barely risen. The sky was still tinted in dark blues and red. She had slept well but she really wished she could just sleep a little longer.

The knocks came again but this time more loudly.

' _Someone sounds desperate.'_ she thought to herself.

"I'm coming!" she said and got out of bed.

Zelda ran her fingers through her hair and combed it as best she could and opened the door. Link wore a worried expression, his fists clenched at his sides.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Link took in a deep breath.

"King Dorephan he…" he paused, trying to find the right words, "He was attacked. Muzu has been arrested for treason and murder."

Zelda felt here eyes widen. She must have heard wrong.

"Murder?" she asked quietly.

Link averted her gaze.

"The king was pronounced dead this morning."


	2. Chapter 2

Zelda didn't know the king personally but that didn't help relieve the shock she felt once those words came out of Link. Who could have possibly done this? Of course that question had already been answered when the knight delivered the message to the princess so the real question was…

 _'_ _Why did Muzu do this?'_ Zelda thought to herself.

Zelda knew she wasn't the only one thinking about this. She could see through Link's eyes that he was most probably asking himself the same question.

He had a hurt expression, his eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were pursed shut.

Link felt terribly guilty because he knew he should at least feel something regarding these news but he didn't. He felt at fault that he had forgotten his memories with the king. The knight knew though, that it wasn't something under his control. He didn't decide which memories to keep and which ones to forget.

He shook his head slowly.

This wasn't the time to lament himself. He had to make sure the princess was safe, the kings death implied that there was danger still running loose. Even though Muzu had now been caught there was still the chance that he didn't act alone.

"Princess, may I express myself freely?" he asked.

The princess looked down at the floor. She felt her heart sink when those words left his lips. It hurt her to know that there were still a lot of things he didn't remember about them. During their travels in the past her and Link had gotten close to each other. He had opened up to her and so had she.

Zelda looked up to see her knight, still awaiting her answer.

She would help him. She would talk to him about the past and help him remember who they were. Who he was. "My knight, you don't need permission to express yourself," she started. "You've always spoken out your mind with me."

He looked to the side, as if trying to remember, "Have I?"

Zelda felt herself smile sadly.

"Yes, during our time together before the Calamity." she said, "We traveled together and got to know each other very well."

Link stood silent, waiting for her to elaborate more but she didn't.

Before Zelda's father appointed him as her knight he had explained to Link what his oath entailed. There were a lot of rules to be followed, he paid very close attention to all of them. One was not to speak if not spoken too, and speak only if granted the permission. It was funny how he could remember occurrences before being the princess's knight, but any other memory after that had been erased or was hazy when he awoke in the Shrine of Resurrection.

Based off of his memories he figured that him and Zelda had a close relationship. She expressed her feelings and thoughts to him. This was one of the times when his oath truly bothered him. He really didn't have any problems with not speaking but when it came to instances where Zelda was sad, there was nothing more he wanted to do than comfort her there and now. Seeing her cry pained him in ways he didn't quite understand but he wish he did.

She was showing the weak side she would desperately hide from everybody else and from what Zelda had just said to him, it seems that he too had opened up to her before the Calamity.

It's not like he didn't know about this already. Link in fact… had read her diary.

He knew it had been an awful breach of privacy but he couldn't help himself. Link was curious as to who Zelda was, what he had been like with her. He felt bad with himself because he was acting like he didn't remember, but it had only been to confirm that what he read was true. Hearing it come from Zelda made it more real to him.

He'd broken an oath he swore to follow.

Link looked up at the princess and realized that he was so deep in thought that he hadn't actually said anything back to her.

"Princess, my oath doesn't not permit me to-"

"Don't worry about your oath." she interrupted, "I've never cared for such things. While you're with me please speak freely."

He looked at her slightly stunned.

"Thank you," Link half smiled and quickly faded as he remembered what he had wanted to tell her in the first place, "I don't think it is safe for you to be here anymore. We don't know if Muzu acted alone or with others."

Zelda frowned and shook her head.

She didn't believe Muzu could have possibly done this. Maybe he was forced to commit treason? Or maybe he _did_ do it and had the help of other people. In the princesses mind, that was not likely. She met Muzu at the castle way back when her father had started to search for the champions and the elder Zora had come to make arrangements for their travel to Zora's Domain. He seemed like a loyal and serious person who spoke highly of king Dorephan.

"I can't believe this happened. You don't think Muzu could have done this, do you?" she asked.

Link thought a bit before answering her question.

Of course he didn't believe Muzu would just commit treason or at least that was what he wanted to think. Even though Muzu had been quite rude to him at the start, it wasn't something he could hold against him. "I don't. There at least has to be evidence." Link said thoughtfully.

Zelda opened her mouth to speak but before she could suggest to look for evidence they were interrupted by the sound of steps coming towards them.

It was Sidon.

Zelda felt at loss for words, especially since she knew the pain he was in. She had also lost her father and mother. Sidon had a sad expression on his face, his shoulders where hunched forward and his eyes were filled with sorrow.

Link had never seen Sidon like this, he was the one who always pushed him forward to continue trying when he failed. Even when the trails seemed impossible, Sidon would encourage Link to keep trying and to believe in himself as much as he did in him.

"Sidon." Link was the first one to speak. "I'm really sorry that this happened."

Zelda lowered her head.

"I am as well." she said not know what she should say, "Your father was a good man."

Zelda didn't know Sidon as well as Link did. She had only seen him when he was a child and they hadn't spoken at all.

Sidon nodded sadly and looked at the floor.

Mipha taught him how to swim for the first time. He remembered how his sister was so patient with him, swimming against the current to teach him over and over again until he wasn't scared to do it by himself anymore. Sometimes it took the whole day for him to learn the basics and she was always by his side explaining as many times as he needed.

Sidon was shy and weak as a child. When his father announced him as his successor when the time came, the majority of the zoras were unpleasant with the decision. Even Muzu didn't think of it as a wise choice but Mipha thought otherwise. She believed in him and what he could grow into. Wherever his sister was, the zora prince hoped that she would be proud of him. When Mipha was gone, he only had his father. Their bond grew stronger after having lost someone so important. The king was always there for him and as was Sidon. He felt a terrible sadness, one he had not yet experienced in his years of life.

Even though he had just lost his family, he knew he wasn't alone. He looked up at the two Hylians in front of him.

They were here with him now.

"Thank you." he smiled sadly.

In his many years of life, Sidon had never felt this unprepared. He knew this day would come but he thought it would occur much more in the future. Not knowing even the basics of politics, how did his fellow zora's expect him to govern over them? Muzu would be a more fit candidate but given the situation at hand that would be impossible.

He didn't believe in what the guards had told him, not because of the shock but because he genuinely knew Muzu wasn't capable of such. Sure he could be grumpy and rude at times but that's it.

"Link," Sidon caught Links attention, "I know what we heard about Muzu, but I know him. I know what he is and what he isn't, and he's certainly not a murderer."

He was glad Sidon thought the same. Muzu might have hated Link at the beginning but he'd known the reasons why.

"Has anyone found evidence against him?" Link said.

"None still."

"Have you searched his chambers?" Zelda asked trying to be helpful to the investigation.

Sidon shook his head.

"No, that's why I came here for you two. I want you to help me put an end to these assumptions quickly," Sidon took out a shiny object from his sash,"This was used against my father. I'm not sure I've ever seen a weapon like this."

"May I?" Zelda recognized the it but held out her hand for a closer inspeccion just to be sure.

Sidon handed the sharp object to the princess very carefully as to not accidentally cut her since it was sharpened throughout all the edges. Zelda studied it while Link and the prince awaited for her thoughts.

Link had no idea what it was, thought judging by its size he figured it was probably a throwing weapon. It was shaped like a star with 4 pointed ends. It was very sharp, but not enough to have killed the king in one hit. There had to be something else.

"This…" Zelda started nervously, "This is a Sheikah weapon, a shuriken. They haven't been used for years. I've only seen them in the textbooks I've studied on Sheikah history. They were used to catch small prey from a distance because of their small aerobic structure. Since these weapons were easy to carry and throw, people started using them for..."

Zelda's eyes suddenly widened and looked over at Link, he was already looking back at her with a cautious expression.

It seemed they had come to the same conclusion.

"Used them for what?" Sidon looked back and forth between the two in confusion.

"Used them to poison targets. The shuriken alone isn't strong enough to kill someone with just one shot. This one must be poisoned too." Link said and looked over at Zelda for her confirmation.

Zelda nodded.

"This is the reason why these weapons stopped being made. The sheikah themselves banned their use." She held the shuriken with the tips of her fingers, now knowing just how lethal it could be if she accidentally pinched herself.

Link felt nervous watching Zelda handle the weapon, he desperately wanted to take it away from her but fighted againsts his instincts.

Zelda turned the weapon backward in her fingers when she noticed an emblem sealed onto it. She didn't remember having seen it before.

"This has to be a sheikah emblem. Where else would they make a similar weapon?" she said and handed the shuriken over to Link for him to see.

Sidon put his hand on Zelda's shoulder.

"Your intelligence amazes me, princess." the Zora said softly, "You really are of great help."

Link almost accidentally pinched himself with the weapon, not expecting at all for Sidon to say such words of praise to the princess. He looked over at her to find her blushing deeply at Sidon's compliment.

"T-thank you, Sidon," she stuttered, "It makes me glad that can I be of use."

Zelda was always reminded by her father that her only duty was to awaken her powers. He looked down upon her when he would discover her reading history books instead of praying. She couldn't help it, reading and investigating was her passion!

The princess was glad she had read all those books. She knew all the knowledge she'd learned would be of use in some way.

"Princess would you help me proving Muzu innocent?" Sidon said and looked briefly at the knight.

"Of course we'll help you, Sidon." Zelda said and handed her his hand.

Sidon smiled sadly, took her hand and squeezed it gently.

"Thank you, princess."

He felt his heart thump hard against his chest a little painfully and looked to the side. He didn't know what he was feeling but it wasn't a happy emotion.

Thinking about Mipha made him feel confused. It made him wonder what his feelings were towards her. She had a profound effect on his emotions but he couldn't figure out what it was.

Thinking about the princess however, made him feel annoyed. Annoyed to know that he would never connect with her like he wanted. Annoyed that his oath held him back from impulsive actions.

It made him feel an itch. The same he felt when thinking of Mipha, but this one was different.

And he had a feeling that this itch would only get worse.

A/N: Thank you for reading :)


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